The Guardians II: Part Two
by D.D. Heal
Summary: The battle for all time is here where we'll see if good will triumph over evil. Along the way, Ben will have to make the ultimate decision.
1. Chapter 1

One

Months Gone By

Months have passed since the universe fell into the hands of the Elder Ones. I exited the hospital with some equipment with Kevin not that far behind. The streets are quiet, no quiet than usual. We hid as an Elder One patrol strolls on by. They were gone and we came out of hiding.

"That was too close," I said.

"I know. And I thought this was going to be hard. Is this everything we need?" Kevin asked.

"For now, Molly is about to give birth at any moment. So every bit counts." I sense someone. "Who goes there?" I yelled.

A group of men came out of the alley. "Stealing hospital equipment? Isn't that a new low for you two?" one of the men asked.

"One of our members is pregnant and she could give birth at any moment. I'm Gwen Tennyson and you three are?" I asked.

"Right, I'm Sgt. Joe Miller of the United States Marine Corps. This is my number two, Corp. Harris Payne and this is Private Gary Updike. We were sent by the President to make sure you guys are all right," Joe answered.

I was relieved. We entered the sewerage system and headed over to the main junction where we set up base of operations. The base was busy as Max walks up to us.

"I was wondering when the President will send someone to check up on us. How's the President doing?" Max asked.

"We're moving bunker to bunker to avoid getting captured by the Elder Ones. Eli and what's left of Special Projects is with him. How are things on your end?" Joe asked.

"Not good, the Elder Ones are making steadily progress," he answered.

"Have you had any luck tracking down the Guardians?" Joe asked.

Cooper stands up and walks over to us. "No, I tried everything. From tracking their energy and life signatures to detecting fluctuations in the timeline, but nothing. I tried get through to Mason Enterprises' main computer, Phoebe. But she's in lockdown and so is the Mystery Men Mansion," Cooper answered.

"What about the Plumber Base?" Joe asked.

"As per regulation, both the bases here and at Mt. Rushmore are in lockdown to prevent the enemy from getting their hands on the tech stored there," he answered.

"This could complicate things. The Elder Ones are using Washington D.C. as a base of operations. They're using Capitol Hill as headquarters and the rest of the city as a launch pad for a bigger invasion. So our intelligence says. As of now, we're coming up with a plan to retake the capital and end the invasion," Joe said.

"It's not that simple. The Elder Ones have advanced technology and we stand little chance of succeeding. You have no idea what they did to Galvan Prime," Cooper answered.

He then experiences a psychotic episode and I calmed him down. "Its okay, Cooper. It's okay," I said.

"Still, he's right. If we're going to succeed, we're going to need united the galaxy together to stop this threat," he said.

"I wish I have your optimism, but it won't do any good here. Both the President and Eli wanted me to tell you to keep fighting and don't give up. That's all we have to say," Joe said.

"I'll show you the way out," Kevin said.

Kevin then escorts the Marines out of the sewers. Max and I walked up to the table. "Well, that went well," Max said.

Molly then walks up to us, she then sits down on the chair. "What do you expect? Marines like him expect the worse," she said.

"Are you okay, Molly?" I asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. I just wish Carter was here, you know. To attend the birth and to be there," she answered.

"You should lie down. You're due to give birth at any moment," I said.

We head over to a makeshift hospital ward. Molly lies down on a bed. "It's strange. I should be out there, fighting the good fight with the other team members," she said.

"They'll return, I'm sure of it," I said.

"I'm starting to see some wear and tear in you. I heard the stories about Galvan Prime. I feel sorry for what's happened with Cooper Daniels. Losing a limb, especially an arm isn't easy," she said.

"Things have been rough, with my brother and cousin M.I.A. There are times when I just want to scream at the top of my lungs," I cried.

"We'll get through this. It's like the Marine said: don't give up," she said.

Meanwhile, a wormhole opened up in the sky and the Duke's Run came through. On board the bridge, Ben looks at the monitors. "Cloaking device is activated and we weren't detected," Ben said.

"Good, we better keep it that way. The Elder Ones have been busy since we got separated. We need a plan in order liberate our Earth," Trent said.

"Both the Plumber Corp and Special Projects have procedures in case of an invasion. Both organisations are already in lockdown to prevent the invaders from getting their hands on some tech," Carter said.

"I have similar procedures in place. Phoebe is in lockdown and so is the Mystery Men Mansion. If we can get them online, I might be able to do an assessment on what's happened in the last few months," Trent said.

"Also, it might be wise to find out if there's a resistance movement. If there is, we should make contact with them," Ken said.

"Hold on, I'm getting Elder One communication chatter. They're using Washington D.C. as command and control," Blake said.

"Okay, we should split into three teams. Trent will take the extra help and get Phoebe back online. While one team will liberate Washington D.C. and I take the other team to Bellwood," Ben said.

"You're sure that's a good idea?" Legion asked.

"I hate to admit, but Legion is right. We saw firsthand what those Elder Ones can do and they'll stop at nothing to restore Earth Prime," Carter answered.

"Three teams is better than one. Besides, they can't hit all of us at once," Ben said.

"True, Plumber Headquarters is in lockdown. You're going to need to deactivate it. I got access," Carter said.

"I got that covered," Ken said.

"First of, you're not a Plumber and you need top level clearance. Which is something I have," Carter said.

"Molly is still out there, waiting to give birth. You want to be there when the child will be born, don't you?" Ken said.

He gives Ken his Plumber badge. "This should get you into the base," he said.

"Okay, Ken's got the Plumber base covered. I'll take Legion and Carter to find the resistance and provide whatever help they need," Ben said.

"I, Rex, Dania and Solaris will liberate Washington D.C. and provide a distraction," Blake said.

"It looks like we got a plan. We'll dock the ship in the docks. We'll take it from there," Ben said.

They docked the Duke's Run in the docks. They got out of the ship and they split up and head in different directions. Back in the sewers, a doctor was doing an ultrasonic scan on Molly as I entered the room.

"Hey, you just miss the scan. The baby is doing fine and still kicking," Molly said.

"It's fortunate I'm here. Anodite pregnancies are similar to human pregnancies, but more complicated. I'm Dr. Fai," he said.

"Complicated in what way?" I asked.

"Anodites tend to build up a lot of mana. It's the source of our power and when a female Anodite get pregnant. They transfer some of that energy to the baby. Otherwise, it'll die," she answered.

"Noted, I should get back to work." I left the room and head back into the main command centre. "How are things here, Grandpa?" I asked.

"I just received more bad news. Manny's group have been taken prisoner," Max answered.

"Isn't everyday a bad news. I just wish we had good news. Cooper is taking this hard," I said.

"Losing your left arm isn't an easy thing, but he's committed," he said.

Cooper then rushes up to us. "I think I may've got something." He brings an energy reading display on the main screen. "A wormhole has just opened up recently. Something came through, but the energy signature doesn't match any of the known Elder One ships we've seen. Also, this ship was cloaked," Cooper said.

"What do you think, Grandpa?" I asked.

"There are a number of possibilities. It could be time travellers or something different. It's too risky to investigate," he answered.

"We'll go and investigate. We'll be quick, I promise," I said.

"Don't take too long," he said.

Sometime later, we head up to the surface to investigate the disturbance. Cooper gets his scanner out and scans the area. "Hmm, this area contains a huge trace of chronologic energy," Cooper said.

"Chronologic energy, what's that?" I asked.

"According to what I heard, chronologic energy is unique. It allows an individual or a device to travel back and forth in time. Something came thought that wormhole a moment, but it closed," Cooper answered.

"It could be a false alarm," I said.

"Maybe you're right. We should get back before we attracted an Elder One patrol." Cooper looks down at his left cybernetic arm. "It still feels cold now and then," Cooper said.

"Come on," I said.

We head back into the sewers; we were unaware that an Elder One patrol spotted us. "Contact Hun and tell him we got a lead on the resistance movement," an Elder One soldier said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nexus arrives outside the entrance to Plumber Headquarters. "I would never thought the secret entrance to Plumber HQ would be in a plumber supply store." He enters the store, pulls the chain and enters HQ. He heads into Max's office and turns the computer on. He plugs in Carter's Plumber's badge. "Let's see." An error message appears on the screen. "Carter, I got a problem. The Plumber lockdown is still in effect and there are a number of glitches preventing me to overriding it," Dr. Nexus said.

"Those two did mention the lockdown was experimental," Carter said over the radio.

"Would Phoebe be able to ratify the glitches and override the lockdown?" Dr. Nexus asked.

"It's possible. Okay, we just arrived in New York," the Mighty Rider over the radio.

Over at the sewers, I was minding my own business when she sensed something. I then heard screams coming from the entrance of the main junction. A Plumber rushes in. "It's the Elder Ones, they found us," he yelled.

He was stabbed in the back. More explosions occurred when Max runs up to me. "Get the others out of here," Max said.

I then heard another scream. "Great, Molly has gone into labour. This will complicate things," I said.

Hun then arrives as the other Elder Ones rounded up the resistance. "It took us a few months to track the resistance movement. It's an honour to meet this Max Tennyson in person. You lot have been causing quite a stir," Hun said.

A couple of Elder One soldiers grabbed Max and bring him over to Hun.

"What can I say? I aim to please," Max said.

"Once this is over, this Earth, along with the rest of this multiverse will be ours," Hun said.

Another Elder One grabs me and hands over to Hun. "I found this one trying to run away. Also, there's another one, she's going into labour," she said.

"Put the mother and baby out of their miseries," Hun ordered.

I'm shocked by what he just said. "I can't believe you're willing to execute a mother and her soon-to-be child," I said.

"Its better they face death. Both of them would only serve as a liability," Hun said.

"A liability. Are all of your Elder Ones emotionless?" I asked.

Hun picks me up by the neck and holds me high. "We gave up everything the moment the other four races declared our plan to restore balance as insane. Some of us severed ties with all emotions in order to achieve peace," Hun answered.

"Then do it. End it," I said.

"At least some beings in this multiverse do have a sense of honour." Hun's communicator beeps and he answers it. "What is it? I was about to commit an execution," Hun asked.

"Washington D.C is under attack from costumed beings," an Elder One answered.

One of the Elder Ones collapses onto the ground after being killed with an arrow. Hun turns around and for the first time in months, the Guardians have returned. "Get your hands off my cousin!" Ben said.

"We need a plan," Legion said.

Hun notices Legion wielding the Redeemer. "I don't believe it! He's wielding the Redeemer, the Elder One Slayer." He drops my cousin. "Get him!" Hun shouted.

The Elder Ones ganged up on the Guardians and they fought them. "At least we got their attention. I'll handle the leader," Ben said.

Ben changes into Rath and lunges onto Hun and those two fought. Carter and Legion fought the other Elder Ones. "Now this is how it was supposed to happen back on Galvan Prime," Carter said.

Carter fires a couple of trick arrows into the Elder Ones. "Let's hope the others are having better luck." They hear Molly screaming in pain and Legion senses it. "Molly's gone into labour," Legion said.

Carter double times it with the shooting. "Hang on, babe. I'm coming," he yelled.

"Dr. Nexus, we got a problem," Legion said.

"I'm on it. I'm opening portals from your location to the med bay at Plumber H.Q." A portal opens up on the other side of the junction. "Tell the others to start evacuating the sewers. I'll guard the base while supervising the evacuation," Dr. Nexus said over the radio.

Legion notices Max and the other Plumbers taking cover behind some rubble. "I know you have reservations about me. But right now, I need you to start evacuation non personnel out of the sewers and into the portal. It should take you to Plumber H.Q. Don't worry, we're dealing with the lockdown," Legion yelled.

Max nods and he begins evacuating non personnel out of the sewers and into the portal. "Legion, this is Trent. I've arrived at Mason Tower; the extra help is buying me some time to get Phoebe online. Hopefully, it shouldn't take too long," Trent said over the radio.

"Okay, we're taking care of the ones in Bellwood. There is still no word from the other team in Washington D.C," Legion said.

"This is Solaris, we're making progress and the resistance movement here is making things easier. We're making a push towards Capitol Hill," Solaris said over the radio.

Ben and Hun carried on fighting and it was in a stalemate. "You and I are both evenly matched. Surrender and I'll make your death less painful," Hun said.

Ben activates the Burst Mode, he transforms into a being of pure energy. "That's the problem with you Elder Ones. You talk too much. Let's take this outside," Ben said.

He grabs Hun, throws up high, through the ceiling and back onto the service. Ben follows in pursuit. "Got it, Phoebe is coming online now," Trent said over the radio.

"For some reason, I was offline for a very long period," Phoebe said.

"I know you were, right now, we need you to ratify the glitches with the Plumber H.Q. lockdown," Legion said.

"Following the Dark God Incident, I became familiar with Plumber security protocols. It should take a minute to ratify the glitches. Got it, overriding lockdown and activating the Plumber Defence Network," Phoebe said.

"All right, Phoebe. Let's wrap this up," Carter yelled.

Legion and Carter head back to the service. Hun lands hard on the ground as Ben comes up to the service. "You impress me, human. It's no wonder why you were able to defeat Riger with ease, but I'm much tougher." Hun draws out his big sword; Legion and Carter arrive to back Ben up. "Now you'll witness the full fury of the Seven Swordsmen of Umaga," Hun yelled.

Hun opens up six portals behind and six swordsmen entered through the portals. Legion and Ben sense the amount of energy the seven of them are generating. "This is unbelievable. The power those seven are generating is immense," Ben said.

"This is much worse. Now we have to deal with the Empress's most brutal and dangerous unit: The Seven Swordsmen of Umaga. The Koku Siblings: Di and Sian, Jengo, Mo, Tenzen, Red Fang and Hun himself. We need to be extra careful if we're going to defeat each swordsman," Legion said.

"You stand no chance of defeating us. Attack!" Hun yelled.

They engaged the Swordsmen. Dr. Nexus soon joins in the fight. "Is there room for one more?" Dr. Nexus asked.

They fought the swordsmen. "Is Molly safe?" Carter asked.

"She is, she's about to get ready to give birth," Dr. Nexus said.

"Could we focus on defeating the swordsmen?" Legion suggested.

Jengo strikes his sword at Ben, but he catches it. "These swordsmen are tough. We need a plan and fast," Ben said.

Ben leaps back and they took a breather. "We should split up. It'll make fighting the swordsmen a lot easier," Dr. Nexus said.

"The problem with that plan is there's going to be a lot of collateral damage. There's a chance civilians could get hurt. If we take them all on, it'll minimise casualties," Carter said.

"Both those plans are viable," Legion said.

"I say we take them all on. We don't want any casualties. Enough blood has spilled since Eon and Seth put their plans into motion," Ben said.

They resumed fighting the swordsmen. Ben was able to defeat the Koku Siblings, while Carter defeated Mo and Dr. Nexus defeats Red Fang. "That just leaves Hun, Jengo and Tenzen," Legion said.

"I got this. You three take a seat, you earned it," Ben said.

The others took a break while Ben fights the remaining swordsmen. "Guys, this is Solaris again. We captured Capitol Hill, the others are making a break for the White House," Solaris said over the radio.

"Victory is near," Dr. Nexus said.

"For the first time in months, it's good to see things like that," Carter said.

Ben defeats Jengo and Tenzen, with Hun the only remaining swordsmen left. "You're the only swordsmen left, Hun. Tell us where the Empress is," Ben said.

"I will never betray the cause," Hun said.

Hun goes in for the attack; Ben deflects it by kicking him into the wall. He grabs his sword, throws it into Hun, effectively killing him. "And that makes seven," Ben said.

I and Kevin head up to the service and we were stunned by what we saw. "You did the impossible." I then hugged him and cried. "It's good to see you," I cried.

Dr. Nexus summons an urn and he uses it to imprison the surviving swordsmen. Kevin takes Jengo's sword as a souvenir. "You better be careful using that sword, Kevin. There, I already removed any traps the sword carries," Legion said.

I then hugged Dr. Nexus. "You have no idea what we've been through. I can't believe its over," I said.

"No its not. It's just the beginning, Ben said.

Sometime later, we were back at Plumber H.Q. the other Plumbers were maintaining the base as Max and Cooper get communications set up. They did in the end and they patch Eli through.

"So the rumours are true. The Guardians have returned. Where have you lot been for the last four months?" Eli said.

"We got split up and ended up in different parts of the multiverse," Ben answered.

"I figured as much. We already arrived safely in Washington. The President wants to thank you lot personally when this is over," Eli said.

"It's all right," Ben said.

"Since you lot came back. It's time for Max and me to bring you lot up to speed. Things are getting desperate and what you lot did has got the Elder Ones panicked and scared. Which is a first since they arrived," Eli said.

"I guess defeating the swordsmen did us a few favours," Dr. Nexus said.

"So to speak. Even though North America is liberated, but the rest of the world and the galaxy is still feeling the Elder One presence," Eli said.

"Shortly after they arrived, we lost all communication throughout the galaxy. Making it difficult to maintain communication with the other Plumbers and the Supreme Commander," Max said.

"I might be able to get communication with the rest of the galaxy back online. However, it'll have to be on a different frequency to avoid detection," Phoebe said.

"Also, conventional weapons aren't making a dent. It would seem the Elder Ones are near indestructible," Eli said.

"We were able to gather bits of intel. Ranging from a black box from a crashed Sentry Drone to some journals belonging to Alonso Juarez," Ben said.

"That name has come up once or twice during the occupation. Not long after, we began pooling all resources into finding where the Empress is hiding," Eli said.

"It won't be simple. She's smart, clever and is willing to avoid capture altogether," Dr. Nexus said.

"We need to end this fast before there'll be nothing left. Moss out," Eli said.

Max then patches the rest of the team online. "It's good to see you're still in one piece, Ben," Rex said.

"How's the rest of the country holding up?" Ben asked.

"Most of North America is liberated. The Mystery Men Mansion is intact and we're rounding up what's left of the Elder Ones," the Mighty Rider answered.

"The same can be said for Washington," Dania replied.

"Our next priority is to locate the Empress, Eon and the others," Blake said.

"We tried everything," Cooper said.

"Not true, during our journeys, we made some discoveries that can help. But it'll take time," Blake said.

"Time is something we don't have," Max said.

The communication unit shuts down as Dr. Fai enters the room. "Excuse me; I'm looking for a Carter Tavistock?" Dr. Fai asked.

"That would be me, Doc," Carter answered.

"I got some good news. Your girlfriend is doing fine and she's given birth to a baby girl. Congratulations, you can go see both of them now," Dr. Fai said.

Carter smiles for the first time in month, He leaves the room and heads over to see them. Sometime later, I stood outside the room as Molly and Carter cared for their daughter. Legion walks up to me. "It's change for once. Not having to worry about the Elder Ones. I think the couple are planning to name the kid Hope," Legion said.

I punched my hand to the wall. "It's not fair. Ever since we got split up. All I thought about is what went wrong with my relationship with Julie. Did I lose my humanity after I defeated Diagon?" Ben asked.

"You're still you. Something is on your mind, isn't there?" Legion asked.

"Sometimes I wonder if I did the right by joining the Guardians. I knew the world needed us back then and now. Was there any justification in doing so?" Ben asked.

"To ask yourself that means you're giving in. Right now, hope is something this multiverse needs. I understands you're need to reconnect to humanity," Legion answered.

"Once this is over, I'm retiring for good. The thought of retirement crossed my mind a dozen times. Finding a successor will not be easy," Ben said.

"You better hope the individual will be worthy," Legion said.

In a lab, Cooper goes through the data Blake and Trent provided and is amazed by the findings. Max enters the lab.

"Find anything useful?" Max asked.

"These findings raise more questions than answers. All of this will take time to assimilate. Alonso Juarez knew that this was going to happen and was trying to find a way to stop it," Cooper answered.

"Who's Alonso Juarez?" Max asked.

"According to what Blake told me, Alonso is a brilliant scientist who figured out a way to reverse engineer a Arc Cube fragment. He used the fragment to travel back and forth through multiverses, parallel Earths and time. This excerpt dated 31st December 1999 indicated he was on Multiverse E, parallel Earth 336. He described the world where the Y2K event destroyed everything," Cooper answered.

"Hmm, it sounds like he's seen it all," Max said.

"What's worse is he's being held prisoner with the Elder Ones. The black box from the crashed Sentry Drone did provided some useful information. We're not the only multiverse experiencing these problems with the Elder Ones. if we don't find a way soon, it's game over," Cooper said.

Evening came, as Ben stood outside, watching the starry night sky, I joined him. "I overheard your conversation with Legion. Do you think retiring will make a difference?" I asked.

"Its what I want," Ben answered.

"I don't believe what I'm hearing. Six years ago, you were over the moon when you got the Omnitrix. Now its different," I said.

"You're going to be the first person I told you this. When you and Kevin left, I literally thought about ending my life. With you two gone, I'm nothing. I pretended to be excited about going solo. My perspective changed when I met Rook. All I ever wanted was a normal life," Ben said.

"That's it! I'm talking some sense into you. You're not the cousin I once knew. Something changed," I said.

I and Ben engaged in a fight. Legion and Dr. Nexus intervened and stopped us. "That's enough, Gwen! I understand Ben's intentions. But you can't force him to carry on being a hero," Dr. Nexus said.

"You're better than this, both of you. There is no point fighting against each other. We need to work together in order to defeat the Elder Ones," Legion said.

We went back inside and we knew things were going to get tougher.

Meanwhile on the other side of the galaxy, Aeon teleports to a remote planet. He walks until he finds what he's looking for.

""I know you're there, old friend," Aeon said.

A face suddenly appeared on the mountain. _It's been too long, Aeon. The rumours about the Elder Ones return is true._

"I wish I bear good news, Ergo the Living Rock, for I have none. The Guardians have returned and I need your advice," he said.

_I sense doubt in your voice. It is understandable. Even in these times, you must cling onto hope._

"Tell me, Ergo. What did you see in your visions?" he asked.

_I saw victory, but it comes at a price. Ben must make the ultimate decision in order to secure victory._


	2. Chapter 2

Two

Journey to Earth Prime

Morning came as Cooper wakes up finds himself sleeping at the desk. "Again, I really need to get my sleep pattern back to normal once this is over. Phoebe, have you found anything new in those journals or the black box?" Cooper asked.

"Negative, I ran full spectrum analyse on all of the items and those scans wielded no results," Phoebe answered.

"Something's not right. Blake told me that Alonso is a smart man. Alonso must've left some clue to find the Empress." Cooper then notices something at the bottom. "What language is written on the bottom page?" he asked.

"Its Sumerian, I have translated it and it doesn't make any sense," Phoebe said.

"Wait, rearrange the letters and numbers." The letters and numbers were rearranged to form coordinates. "These are coordinates," he said.

"They don't match any known galaxy, planet or parallel Earth," Phoebe said.

"What if its not. Run an x-ray and gamma ray scan on the journals," he said.

"I have detected something in one of the journals. The one dated 1999 to 2000 seems to have something hidden underneath the hardback," Phoebe said.

Cooper gets a scalpel; he grabs the journal and cuts along the hardback. He finds a DVD insides, he puts into the player and plays it.

"If you find this disc. It means the Elder Ones have been set free. Time is on the essence. The more time they spend here, the more harm comes to everything multiverse. I have been gathering information regarding the Empress's movements and behaviour patterns. From what I learned, she tends to spend a lot of time on Earth Prime. In Elder One ideology, it's a holy site and she'll be in Argon City. In each journal, I have provided clues that should lead you or any hero to her location. The Star of Okath is the key, destroy it and it should destroy every Elder One, except for the Empress. Also in the journal dated 2000 to 2001, I've provided instructions to help modify the Universal Gate Network. It should help you get to Earth Prime. Good luck," Alonso said.

The footage finishes playing and Cooper smiles for the first time in months. "Tell Max and the others to gather in the command centre," he said.

He then rushes out of the room. "Of course," Phoebe said.

Sometime later, we gathered in the command centre and stood near the table. "Okay, is there a reason why you summoned us, Cooper?" I asked.

"I got some good news. I have found the coordinates to Earth Prime. It turns there were hidden messages in the journals. All of which were written in Sumerian," Cooper said.

"Based on the coordinates and the data I acquired from the black box and the Duke's Run main computer. I have determined Earth Prime's location," Phoebe said.

A holographic of the multiverse appears in the centre of the table. We noticed the highlighted planet in the centre. "There's no way that's Earth Prime," Gwen said.

"Both the Light and Dark Gods and the other two races have been to Earth Prime. It's hard to ignore," I said.

"It's a long shot," Max said.

"Wouldn't the Duke's Run universal drive get us to Earth Prime?" I asked.

"Unlikely, there's a chance the ship will be torn apart by the event horizon," Phoebe answered.

"We got the resources to build a Universal Gate. It'll take a dozen hours to complete," Cooper said.

"Also, we're going to need someone who knows Earth Prime in and out," I said.

The others arrived and Zak walks up to Ben. "I know the way and I've been to Earth Prime before," Zak said.

Everyone was shocked by Zak's presence. "How is this possible and does this defy the laws of reality?" Gwen asked.

"The laws became moot the moment the Elder Ones were set free. Superboy has volunteered to guard the mansion," Blake said.

"With data, we could get to Earth Prime. I'll get my science team together to design a Universal Gate," Trent said.

Sometime later, we gathered at the docks as a team of technicians and scientists assemble a Universal Gate. Time stood still as Aeon arrived.

"I take it you're here to say goodbye?" I asked.

"Hardly, that was a good call to time travel a few months later after the Elder Ones escaped. At least you prevented another collapse of the timeline," Aeon said.

"I have so many questions to ask regarding the outcome of this," I asked.

"It is not my place to say, Ben. Your entire timeline is a fixed point in time. If it's disrupted in anyway, the consequences will be catastrophic. It's been an honour fighting at your side and may I say good luck. You're going to need it," Aeon said.

Time resumed when Aeon left. Hours passed when we finished assembling the gate. "There, that should do it. If the calculations are correct, we should be able to punch a hole big enough to get the Duke's Run to Earth Prime," Blake said.

"Do we even have a plan?" Rex asked.

"We just make this stuff up as we go along. I don't like the fact we're flying in blind," Trent answered.

"Now then, let's go and save the multiverse." We got onboard the ship as Carter is about say his goodbyes. "Don't worry about me. I'll be back home before dinner and a victory party," he said

He gets onboard and heads up to the bridge. I took control of the joystick. I flew the ship into the air. "Okay, activating Universal Gate." The gate activates and a portal opens up. "It's holding steady. You're good to go," Cooper said.

"Roger that, Cooper," I said through the radio.

We then flew the ship into the hole. On the other side, we arrived at Earth Prime. We were amazed by the view. Zak looks slightly concerned. "Okay, they haven't gotten around to terra forming the planet," Zak said.

"In the future, it was full of life, wasn't it?" Dr. Nexus asked.

"Yeah and a part of it was a barren wasteland. We need to head left and keep on going straight. Also, it might be advisable to activate the cloaking device," Zak answered.

I activated the ship's cloak and made a left turn. "So, got any ideas what we might run into?" he asked.

Solaris then notices the Hyperion on the screen. "That," she said.

"I can sense them. The Hyperion contains over ten thousand troops. Comprising of X'Andi, androids and Elder Ones," Dr Nexus said.

"If that gets to our Earth, its over," Blake said.

"One of our priorities is to disable the Hyperion and take out the crew," Dania suggested.

"Agreed," I said.

Legion then gets a mine grain. "We're getting close. I can sense every Elder One in Argon City, including the Empress," Legion said.

"I don't suppose you know what they're doing?" Solaris asked.

"The Empress knows of the Seven Swordsmen of Umaga's failure. She's sending the Hyperion over to our Earth to eliminate it," he answered.

"Does she know we're here?" Blake asked.

"No, the cloaking device is preventing them from picking us on their radar," he answered.

"That's good to know," I said.

We arrived at Argon City. "I would never thought I would see the capital in person," he said.

"It must've been something back in its heyday," Dania said.

"The scanner is picking up two chronologic energy signatures. One of them is getting weaker, it must be where Paradox is," Blake said.

"Hmm, the scanner indicates the weaker reading is coming from that building there. Right next to the castle," Trent said.

"According to the display, the building is well fortified," Carter said.

"During the war, the building was used as a lab and still is," he said.

"I'm also detecting a huge power reading," Blake said.

"It must be powering the Star of Okath. It's time to come up with a plan. We got our priorities, defeat the Empress and end the Elder One threat. The Hyperion is heading to our Earth," I said.

"I'll volunteer to intercept the Hyperion, board the ship and take out the crew," Solaris said.

"Too risky, its like Legion said, there are ten thousand troops onboard," Carter said.

"I'll go with her," Dr. Nexus said.

"I don't like it, but come back safe. That leaves the castle and the lab," I said.

"We need someone with hacking capability to hack the systems to shut down the Star," Blake said.

"I'll volunteer, with Phoebe and the black box data. We should be able to hack into the computer systems and shut down the Star," Trent said.

"You better take Rex in case if you overload. His nanites should be able to shut down the Star," I said.

Dr. Nexus looks out the window. "It looks like they're fortifying the city. We better get moving," Dr. Nexus said.

"It won't take the Empress long to figure out we're here. I'm deactivating the cloak, we're going in," I said.

I deactivated the cloaking device. It didn't take the Elder Ones long to notice us. They opened fire on the ship. "Ben, I'm detecting multiple hull breaches. The shields on this thing weren't designed for direct fire. We need to abandon ship," Carter suggested.

"Everyone to your designated assignments. Time to send the Duke directly into the city," I said. I turned the autopilot on and we abandoned the ship. The ship crashes directly into the city wall. In the castle, an Elder One guards rushes into the throne room.

"My Empress, a ship has crashed into the city," the guard said.

Empress then senses us. "The Guardians, they must've survived. They mustn't be allowed to enter the castle. Send a patrol to find them and inform Eon and Seth as well," the Empress said.

Somewhere in the city, we arrived to find the place alive with Elder Ones. "Well, if the crash didn't get their attention. I don't know what will. Hmm, the castle and the lab must be in the centre of the city," Blake said.

"With Solaris and Dr. Nexus taking care of the Hyperion. I'll provide the distraction while the rest of you lot make a run for the centre," Carter said.

"I hate to interrupt, but you just became a dad. Did you sign your death warrant before we left? I'll back you," Dania said.

We rushed over to the castle as Dania and Carter distract the Elder Ones in the city centre. Trent morphs into the Mighty Rider. "The chronologic readings are getting weaker. We need to get moving," the Mighty Rider said.

We arrived at the castle only to be confronted by Eon. "I don't know how you survived, but frankly, I don't care," Eon said.

"Step aside, Eon. This doesn't concern you," I said.

"I'm going to enjoy this. Every bit of it," Eon said.

"I'll handle Eon. You lot better make a dash over to the lab and castle," the Mighty Rider said.

We made a run for the castle as the Mighty Rider begins to fight Eon. We made inside the castle and Rex uses his powers to shut the doors. "It won't hold them for long," Rex said.

"That's what worries me. The Empress is still in the castle," Legion said.

Blake gets his laptop out and powers it up. "We got a problem. Paradox's chronologic energy reading is heading below zero. We better get a move on," Blake said.

"Ben and I will handle the Empress and any resistance. The rest of you should make your way to the lab," he said.

"Well that's great and all. Once we set Paradox free, what then?" Rex asked.

"All in due time, just get going," he yelled.

We went off in separate directions. Rex and the others arrived at the lab and took the Elder Ones guarding it. "Zak, what're you doing here?" Alonso asked.

"We're rescuing you. Getting you and Paradox out is going to be a challenge," Zak answered.

"No kidding, the equipment here is sensitive to tampering. Touch one button and a squad will be alerted. But that won't be a problem since they're distracted," Alonso said.

"A few months ago, Paradox was fit as a fiddle, but now he's getting weaker," Blake said.

"They nearly drained Paradox of his chronologic energy just to make sure the Star is at full capacity. If you lot don't do something sooner, he'll die," Alonso said.

"Since you know a lot about the Star and the Arc Cube. How do we go about shutting both of them down?" Blake asked.

"It won't be easy. To do so, we need to restore Paradox back to normal. First, shut down the console over there. It's what keeps the Arc Cube going." Rex uses his powers to shut down the console. "Good, remove the Arc Cube, it should be fully charged and be careful. A slight accident or a drop will trigger an explosion that'll wipe out Argon City," Alonso answered.

"Okay, try not to drop the Cube. Got it," Rex said.

"What's next?" Blake asked.

"Cut the power that powers our cages and hand the Arc Cube over to Paradox. He'll know what to do," Alonso answered.

Blake turns the power off to the cages, Rex then hands Paradox the Arc Cube and he begins to heal. "I hope this works," Rex said.

Up in the sky, Solaris and Dr Nexus flew to intercept the Hyperion. Onboard the ship, the alarms go off as they intercept the ship. "What is happening down there?" the captain yelled.

"We got intruders in the hangar bay, sir!" one of the solders yelled through the intercom.

"Seal them in and don't let them near the bridge. Also, vent the room with gas just to be sure," the captain ordered.

In the hangar bay, the Elder Ones pumped gas into the room. Dr. Nexus meditates and puts a shield around him and Solaris. "Will that even work?" she asked.

"You'll never know unless you try. Besides, they got to vent the room sometime," Dr. Nexus answered.

Outside, a patrol is waiting to enter the hangar. "They must be dead by now. All right, vent the room and check for bodies," the patrol leader ordered.

He presses the button to vent the room and entered. They were ambushed and defeated. Dr. Nexus uses a teleportation spell to teleport themselves to the bridge. Solaris and Dr. Nexus make quick work of the bridge crew. "The bridge crew is taken care of. That leaves the rest of the crew," she said.

Dr. Nexus's cell phone rang. "Plug me into the console. I'll try and see if I can gain control of the ship," Phoebe said.

Dr. Nexus plugs his cell phone into the console and Phoebe gets to work hacking the controls. "Come on, Phoebe," she said.

"I've gained the control of the ship. I'm teleporting all of the enemy forces back to their respective parallel Earths," Phoebe said.

"I can no longer sense them onboard," Dr. Nexus said.

"Ben, we've captured the Hyperion," she said.

"That's great, we're going to need it if we're going to escape Earth Prime," I said over the radio.

"Until then, we stay put," she said.

At the castle, Legion and I were exploring the castle and noticed the portraits on the walls. "That doesn't look like Earth Prime?" I asked.

"That's because it isn't. It's the Elder One home world or was," Legion answered.

"What happened to their homeworld?" I asked.

"As you saw yourself, the Elder Ones are capable of using any technology. Before all of this, they entered a Industrial Revolution. Unfortunately, it backfired and it destroyed their homeworld. They wondered the stars as nomads until they stumbled onto Earth Prime and you know the rest," he answered.

"We must be getting close," I said.

"I wondered how're the others are doing?" he wondered.

Back outside, Dania and Carter were holding their own against the might of the Elder One armada. "Out of all the battles I've been involved, I prefer New York," Carter said.

"Why New York?" Dania asked.

"The odds back then weren't that grim. I'm running out of arrows," Carter answered.

"And I'm getting exhausted, suggestions?" Dania asked.

"We better fall back and regroup and." All of the sudden, Deviation shows up and teleports the entire army to another dimension. "Okay, I wasn't expecting that. Even from a android," he said.

"You know this person?" Dania asked.

"His name is Deviation, we fought on Galvan Prime," Carter answered.

"I know you have your reasons for not trusting me, but I'm here to help," Deviation said.

"All right, we're listening," he said.

On the other side of the city, Eon and the Mighty Rider were fighting it out when took a pause for a moment. "Giving up already? That is unlike you, Mason," Eon said.

"Do you really think that this'll end peacefully? When this is over, they'll have no use for you, your 'bride' and your android," the Mighty Rider said.

"Are you questioning my morals? If you are, then you're wasting your time. I've suffered long enough to know what grief does to you. You think we're alike?" Eon asked.

"No, but I do know they'll get rid of you when this is over." They resumed fighting when the Rider notices something. "What gives? Wait a minute, Phoebe, access the Special Projects database and bring up Eon's file." He reads the file and notices something. "That's it! Phoebe, begin hacking Eon's suit," the Mighty Rider said.

All the sudden, Eon begins to notice something is wrong. "What have you done?" Eon asked.

"There's something not right about you, Eon. According to your file, your powers were stripped the moment Ben last defeated you. Your powers were never restored, its all in the suit. And there's something unique about it, your suit uses the same algorithms as my armour and its what keeping you anchored to this timeline," the Mighty Rider answered.

"Undo those anchors and I cease to exist," Eon shouted.

"Let's give it a try." The Rider hacks Eon's suit, undo the anchors and Eon is erased from the timeline. "Well, that was easy than I though. Ben, Eon is down. I'm heading to the others to rescue Paradox and Alonso," the Mighty Rider said.

He flees the scene. Back at the lab. Paradox is fully healed and places the Arc Cube down. "Thank you for saving my life. I can no longer sense Eon," Paradox said.

"That's because he's dead. With him gone, we need to begin phase two of operation. Destroy the Star once and for all," Blake said.

"I've analysed the Star and I made a number of discoveries. The Star itself is a living database," Phoebe said.

"A what?" Superboy asked.

"A living database, its a database designed to input entries the moment after a living being is born," Blake answered.

"Correct, this Star contains the index of every known Elder One alive. Destroying it could erase them from existence," it said.

"Wait, if we do that, we'll be committing genocide," Rex said.

"That good-for-nothing, demigod. Legion knew all long what could happen if the Star is destroyed," Blake said.

"If I recall correctly, we didn't have a problem destroying a race. Remember what happened in New York when we destroyed the Dark Gods," Rex said.

Aeon then appears out of the blue. "The difference is those Dark Gods were loyal to Dark Sai. The Elder Ones are beyond redemption. They had their chance," Aeon said.

"Okay, who is that?" Zak asked.

"That's Aeon, a Light God. To find you here is quite alarming," Paradox said.

"Say what you will, Paradox. But I'm here to help," Aeon said.

They then felt a tremor. "We don't have time for a vote, I say we destroy them," Blake said.

"It could work. However, the blast radius will be limited," Phoebe said.

The Mighty Rider then arrives. "What do you mean limited?" he asked.

"The blast radius will only cover Earth Prime and that's it," Phoebe answered.

"There's got to be a way to broadcast the blast throughout every known multiverse." Alonso then hits upon a idea. "The Universal Gate network. If my physics knowledge is correct, it's possible to open a prime portal. By using a prime portal, it'll transmit the blast through every accessible Universal Gate and every known multiverse," Alonso said.

"One problem, we don't have time, let alone the resources to create a Universal Gate. What you're suggesting is impossible," Blake said.

"It might work. This lab has got everything we need. We better hurry," Paradox said.

Over at the throne room, I and Legion burst into the room to it empty. "Something's not right. The Empress should be here," Legion said.

"Or it could be trap," I said.

"There's that," Legion said.

On the contrary, blasphemer," she said.

The room lit up and we were surrounded.


	3. Chapter 3

Three

Hope for the Future

We found ourselves ambushed and surrounded, the Empress gets up from her throne and walks over to us, Seth and Julie soon followed her. "I'm impressed you were able to find my castle and Earth Prime," she said.

"Nothing has changed, your highness. On behalf on every multiverse, we must order you to surrender with immediate effect," Legion ordered.

The Empress then becomes enraged by what he said. "You dare order me around. You sound more like your great-grandfather," she yelled.

"It doesn't have to end in violence. I'll promise to find your people a place they can call home. I heard what happened to your homeworld and I'm sorry for your loss," I said.

"You sympathise with her than me. You haven't changed at all, Tennyson," Julie said.

"Once we wipe you two out. We'll destroy your Earth to make your friends suffer," she said.

"Split up. I'll handle the Empress. You'll deal with Julie and Seth. This isn't the time to argue, go!" he said. We began to fought, back in the lab, Rex, Zak and the Mighty Rider were assembling a Universal Gate.

"I have a question. How does a prime portal work because I never heard of one?" Rex asked.

"In theory, a prime portal allows portals to open without using a device or any source. In other words, we're going to open a whole bunch of portals remotely. Luckily, my gauntlet contains five terabytes of coordinates," Alonso answered.

Alonso plugs his gauntlet into the console and uploads the coordinates. "I have to admit, this is bit crazy. But, given that we pulled off the impossible before. I see no reason to stop," Blake said.

"Will there be any time to do a small scale test?" Zak said.

"Please, in my books. There's no such thing as a small scale test. But I would like to know if there's any consequences to what we're about to pull off," the Mighty Rider wondered.

At the castle's entrance, Carter, Dania and Deviation arrived at the entrance to discover it's locked. "Great, it's locked," Carter said.

"One moment, accessing Elder One network hub. It looks like your friends have a plan to deal with the Elder One threat. While Solaris and Dr. Nexus still have the Hyperion," Deviation said.

"That's great and all. Do you know what's happening in the castle?" Dania said.

"This is not good, Ben and Legion have engaged the Empress and her servants in a duel," it answered.

"We better hope Ben has put aside his feelings. Can you open the gates?" Carter asked.

"Accessing, the castle operates on a different network. One moment, I've gained access. Opening castle gates," it answered.

The gates opened. "You two go on ahead. I'll head over to the lab," Dania said.

Carter and Deviation rushed on into the castle. Back in the throne, Legion and the Empress were engaged in a duel, while I engage Julie and Seth in a fight. "You'll pay for all your lies, Tennyson!" Julie yelled.

"I admit, I've made mistakes, but I'm not perfect." I activated the Burst Mode. "However, I'll do whatever it takes to save you," I said.

Back in the lab, the Mighty Rider and Rex have finished putting the touches on the Universal Gate. "That should do it. How do we open a prime portal?" the Mighty Rider asked.

"A normal Universal Gate portal is coloured blue. But a prime portal is coloured green. So, in order to open a prime portal, we must a normal Universal Gate portal." Alonso opens a portal. "Let's see, reverse the polarity and then inverse it and it should turn green. Right on, now to program the coordinates of every multiverse into the computer," Alonso answered.

He connects his gauntlet to the computer and uploads the coordinates. "This is your first time doing this, isn't it?" Blake asked.

"Yes it is. I've read the theory work about prime portals carefully. One slip up and all of reality will be destroy. Coordinates are uploaded and portals should start opening up in corner of every known multiverse. There we go, onto the next part of this ingenious plan. Program the Star to implode," he answered.

"Wouldn't a normal explosion work?" Superboy asked.

"I would like to think so, but since this is Earth Prime. I'd rather not, given that it'll be destroyed along with everything else if we trigger an explosion," he answered.

"Also, Earth Prime is beginning of everything," Blake said.

"Right, I'll program a timer. It should give us some time to escape Earth Prime," he said.

Dania then arrives. "There you guys are. I got some bad news," she said.

In the hallway, Carter and Deviation felt tremors throughout the area. "That's not good," Carter said.

"No its not. We need to hurry." Deviation and Carter burst into the throne room. The other Elder Ones notice them and they ambushed them. They soon fought them off. "I have a plan to save Julie," it said.

"I'll keep these guys busy," Carter yelled.

Carter begins to fight off the Elder Ones, while Deviation rushes in to where I was fighting Julie and Seth. "Activating Julie override protocol 70980. Begin cure sequence," it said.

Julie stops fighting as she begins to feel pain. "What gives?" I asked.

"I give. I know you still have reservations about me after what happened during our last encounter. But right now, I'm Julie's hope for a cure," it answered.

Seth lunges in to attack Deviation, but I intercept the attack. "I'll keep him busy. Just focus on curing Julie," I said.

"Curing process is at fifty per cent. Begin restoring memories." Deviation then begins to restore Julie's memories. "Almost there. Activate cybernetic disintegration sequence, it should get rid of any cybernetic implants," it said.

Julie then returns to normal and I rushed over to her. "Thank you, but you're with Eon. Why would you turn against your own creator?" I asked.

"When Rex and I fought on Galvan Prime, he used his powers on my and it caused the programming constraints Eon programmed into me to be overridden. In other words, I became free," it answered.

"And for that, you'll pay for treachery, android!" Seth yelled.

He goes in for the attack. Back at the lab, Blake programs the timer into the computer and looks at the monitor. "The timer is set. We got ten minutes until the Star implodes," Blake said.

"Portals have been opened on every multiverse accounted for. Once the blast is transmitted to a multiverse, the portal should close automatically," Alonso said.

"Right then, we're done here. Time to get the heck out of here," Zak said.

Everyone left the lab and headed outside. "Dr. Nexus, are you reading me, over?" the Mighty Rider asked.

"Loud and clear. We still got the Hyperion, on the plus side, we got transportation to get us back to our Earth," Dr Nexus over the radio.

"Great, prepare to teleport everyone onto the Hyperion. I'm going after Ben and the others," he said.

The Mighty Rider heads over to the castle as the others were teleported onto the Hyperion. Back in the throne room, Deviation fights Seth off. "Can you stand?" I asked.

"Barely, I don't feel like myself," Julie answered.

"I'll get her out of here. Just make sure you three end this quick," Carter said.

He picks Julie and they head out of the room. Legion sees what's going on and the Empress uses her telekinesis to throw Legion across the room. She leaps up into air and lands in front of the exit, blocking Carter's escape. "Now you'll die for your interference," she yelled.

The Empress gets ready to stab Carter. All the sudden, Deviation swoops in and takes the blow. I was shocked to see what happened. "Deviation!" I yelled.

It collapses onto the floor. "Hmm, pathetic," she said.

I rushed over to him. "Why, why did you do it? We don't know each other?" I asked.

"When I was first activated all those years ago, my mandate was to protect Julie at all costs. When she died, Eon's programming replaced my original program. Then, Rex came and freed me. So, I did what I was meant to do. Protect Julie and save her," it answered.

"Thank you," Julie said.

"My pleasure. I know you lacked the willpower to defeat her while she was under Eon's control. You must believe, its what led you to save her," it said.

"Rest, you earned it. Now then, I'm going to make you pay for every crime you've committed, your highness," I said.

She retreats back to the throne. "Hardly, you can barely stand. Why don't you just give up. You can't win," she said.

"You think. See, when I first activated the Burst Mode. I master the power and control aspects, but now. I'm starting to understand more about the balance aspect. Its about belief and the people who believe in you. I will never give up," I said.

I then fully mastered the Burst Mode as Legion gets up, he is amazed. "Unbelievable, you did it. You're in for it now, your highness," Legion said.

"Legion, get everyone out of here. I'll buy some time. Just get back to our Earth. I'll join you soon," I said.

Legion and the others escaped the throne room. In the hallway, the Mighty Rider encounters them. "What happened in there? And what's Deviation doing here?" he asked.

"It's a long story, but I'll explain once we get out of here," Legion answered.

"We secured transportation. Hyperion, we're ready to teleport onboard," he said.

They teleported onboard the Hyperion. Solaris gets up as she notices Deviation onboard. "What the heck is that thing doing here? You better throw off the Hyperion," Solaris said.

"Cool your jets, this guy save Julie. Besides, he earned a free ride back to our Earth," Carter answered.

"It better be worth it," Solaris said.

"I'll get him over to maintenance," the Mighty Rider said.

He and Deviation head over to the maintenance area. "Where's Ben?" Dr. Nexus notices the look on Legion's face. "You got to be kidding. We better turn back and get him," Dr. Nexus said.

"Phoebe, how long do we have before implosion?" Blake asked.

"We have six minutes left to implosion," Phoebe answered.

"We've re-established communication channels. Eli, this is Solaris, we're making our escape and tell our allies to watch where they shoot. We commandeered the Hyperion," she said.

"Wow, that's unexpected. Can you lot care to explain why a green portal just opened up by itself?" Eli asked.

"Trust us, its part of the plan," he answered.

"Now then, lets a get portal open up," the Mighty Rider said.

Solaris presses a button on the console to open a Universal Gate portal. They flew into the portal and back to their Earth.

In the throne room, I was surrounded, outnumbered a hundred against one. "Do you really think a light show can stop us?" the Empress asked.

"I won't know until I try." The remaining Elder Ones launched their attack, but I fought them. They all fell. "Wow, this is what Burst Mode feels like when it reaches its full potential," I said.

"Big deal, I fought over a dozen Light and Dark Gods during my day. I'll show you potential," Seth said.

I then fought Seth, who proved to be a tougher opponent than the other Elder Ones. I can see why Legion struggled against on Galvan Prime. I kept on dodging each of his attacks until a opportunity comes. He made a mistake and I took advantage of it. I counter his attack and threw him across the room. I fired a energy blast, killing him in a instant. "And that's for Legion and everyone you manipulated into doing your bidding," I said.

The Empress then becomes outraged. "You defeat my most loyal subject. I haven't felt loss since Dark Sai murdered my late husband. And for that, you'll pay with your life! Stand aside, I got this," the Empress said.

"Finally," I said. We then began to fight.

Back on my Earth, the Hyperion arrives just in time as they saw a warzone in the sky. On the bridge, Solaris steers the helm into the skyline. "I'm getting multiple reports from all over the galaxy. It looks like the coalition forces are making a final push to recapture Galvan Prime. Also, we have four minutes left until implosion," Phoebe said.

Dr. Nexus then senses something. "Oh no, Ben has engaged the Empress in a fight. This is it," Dr. Nexus said.

"I can sense it too. It won't be long until the fall of the Elder Ones," Legion said.

Back on Earth Prime, I still engaged the Empress in a fight. "Why do you persist to defeat me? Surely you understand the cost of achieving peace," she said.

"At what cost? The cost of a trillion lives and a billion Earths. I don't think so." We crashed through the castle wall and landed onto the street where we carried on fighting. "This cannot go on forever," I said.

"I will make sure you and every being on your multiverse will fall." She then senses something is not right. "What's that noise I hear beeping? Its coming from the lab. The Star, send every Elder One to the lab and find out what's going on," she said.

"Minutes later and you still haven't figured it out. You lot are finished, its over," I said.

I then get up and the Empress becomes infuriated. "What have you done?" she asked.

_My Empress, we got a situation. The Star is about to implode. If we don't shut it off, the blast will wipe out Argon City._

_Shut it down at once. _"I will make you suffer," the Empress said.

She kept onto throwing punches, I kept on dodging them until I caught one of them and threw her back to the ground. "Any minute now," I said.

_We can't shut down the Star and the systems aren't responding._

A huge energy wave appeared and it engulfed the entire planet. The other Elder Ones began to notice changes within themselves as they began to explode. The Empress witnessed what's happening to her people and she becomes outrage. "What have you done?" she yelled.

"You see, King Zale knew you were a lost cause. So he devised a plan in case if you lot returned. He used the one thing that kept you prisoner and turned into the weapon. What you witnessed was a implosion designed to wipe your race. Well, not everyone, luckily you got spared," I answered.

She then begins to cry over the loss of her people. I then walked away, but she tries to attack me in anger. But I intercepted it and I threw her to the ground. "Why? Why did you do it? Why did you destroy my race?" she asked.

"I only found out about the Star's secondary purpose while I was on another parallel Earth. Look, I would try to find a peaceful solution to some problems. But you forced our hands the moment you lot start destroy universes to restore Earth Prime," I answered.

She then smiles at the brink of death. "You've think you won. The truth is, you lost the moment you defeated. I arranged a policy you humans call it. I ordered my soldiers to plant a bomb right at Earth Prime's core. To make matters worse, my heart is the triggering device. You lose," she said.

She then dies, after a while, I heard a explosion and it set off a huge tremor. I fled the scene and head back to the portal. "Guys, we got a situation," I said.

"One minute we were jumping in joy, the next strange weather patterns and tremors appeared out of the blue. What gives?" Blake asked over the radio.

"The Empress was one step ahead of us. She planted a bomb right at Earth Prime's core. It's been detonated. I'm heading back now," I said.

Back on out Earth, Legion realises what's going on and everyone notices the look on his. "Well, are you going to fill us in, Legion?" Kevin asked.

"If Earth Prime is destroyed, everything, including us will be destroyed. Earth Prime is the source of everything," he answered.

"Nothing is never that simple," Gwen said.

"No its not," he said.

Back on Earth Prime, as I arrived near the portal, I began to think and I experienced a flashback to the time when I was training with Legion on Tao. After a session, we played a game of chess where Legion sacrificed one of his pawns to protect his king.

"That's typical of you. Sacrificing your pawns like that. Shouldn't you be capturing my king instead of protecting yours?" I asked.

"There's a lesson to be learned here. Imagine the multiverse as a chess game, the pawns are your ideals and who do you think the king will be?" he asked.

"I don't know, the people I care and protect," I answered.

"Not just the people, but every living creature throughout the multiverses. They're what's most important. Sometimes you need to sacrifice your life in order to protect the things you care about, not just your planet. I know its the hardest lesson, but sometimes you got to learn it in order to understand what being a hero means," Legion said.

Back in the present, I stopped for a moment and thought. I remember Azmuth mentioned that Burst Mode is like being a god. I wonder if its possible to use the Burst Mode to stabilise the planet's core. I left the area and flew into the planet's core.

Back on my Earth, Legion senses something is wrong. "Ben, what're you doing?" he asked.

_You once said that the Burst Mode grants me godlike, so I'm putting it to the test. I'm heading to the planet's core._

At Earth Prime's core, the core lid up like a Christmas tree when I arrived. _There's got to be another way, Ben. Return to our Earth so we can come up with a new plan._

"If we do, there won't be a multiverse left or any of them. I'm planning to use the Burst Mode to repair the damage. Hopefully it should stabilise the planet and every multiverse out there," I said.

_What your suggesting is suicide. Are you willing to die for everything and everyone?_

"I am. Its like you said back on Tao. Sometimes you need to sacrifice your life in order to save the people I care about. My life may not be perfect, but at least this last act should get me on everyone's good graces," I said.

_You'll die!_

"I know, tell everyone I'm sorry. I won't be coming home. Well, here goes," I said.

I used all of the Burst Mode to reignite the planet's core. During that time, my life flashed before my eyes. I recalled every moment, birthdays, memories and every mistake I made. I recall some of the tough decisions I've made along the way. Those decisions cost me a lot. I broke up with Julie, my cousin and Kevin moved on and everyone I knew moved on.

Not all of it wasn't tragic, along the way, I learned I wasn't alone. There were other heroes like me and I fought alongside them. I begin to feel tired and exhausted. I'm nearly at the end, the planet's core is revived and the multiverses are intact. I look at my hand and I noticed I'm going through some changes. My body begins to disintegrate, along with the Omnitrix. At least I led a good life.

Legion falls to his knees and cries. "What is it, Legion?" Dr. Nexus asked.

"Ben's dead," he answered.


	4. Chapter 4

Four

Here's To You

A silence fell upon the Earth, we should be celebrating our victory over the Elder Ones. Instead, we mourn the loss of Ben Tennyson, Carter walks up to me and looks at in denial. "No, its not true. Ben must've teleported to a nearby multiverse," Carter said.

"I can no longer sense him or the Omnitrix," I cried.

Everyone around us begins to cry and Gwen falls to her knees. "No, no, no," Gwen said.

"I better the call," Carter said.

He gets his Plumber's badge and makes the call. Alonso uses his gauntlet to open up two portals. "These portals should get you us back home. You better hurry, Superboy. All the locks that separate the multiverses apart are being put back into place. Take the yellow portal." Superboy jumps into the yellow and it closes behind him. "There are no words that can be said here. Thank you for saving me and end the nightmare I started twenty years ago. You have my deepest sympathies and I am sorry for your loss. Goodbye and good luck," Alonso said.

Both Alonso and Zak go through the portal and it closes behind them. Eli arrives at the scene. "We got the call. Say it ain't so?" Eli said.

Eli sheds a tear over Ben's death. It took the rest of the galaxy not long to learn Ben had died in battle. A week passed over at the Old Bellwood Penitentiary, Jeremy enters the hall and sits at the table, opposite Len. "It's weird. Ben 10 is dead. I had to explain to my son what death does. How do you explain something like that to a seven year old with cerebral palsy?" Len asked.

"My father died when I was eight. He died trying to save a kid from drowning in a flowing river. I think the coverage of the funeral is about to start," Jeremy said.

Len turns the TV on. "This is Alpha News, with Harry Miller live from Washington D.C," the announcer said.

"We're coming to live from Washington D.C. For the state funeral of Ben Tennyson, the boy who gave his life to save everything and everyone," Harry said.

Back in Bellwood at the home of Ben Tennyson, Sandra stares at Ben's bedroom and begins to cry, Carl comforts her. They left the house and drove over to Washington D.C. At Plumber H.Q, Max picks up a photo of Ben and Gwen and looks at it. "It's not fair, isn't it? Hearing your grandson has died before you," the Supreme Commander said.

"No one doesn't deserve to bury a child, especially a grandchild. I'm surprised you turned up, Commander," Max said.

He turns around and looks at the Commander. "Galaxy owes everything to Ben. Rook is taking it hard, so he won't be joining us. Given the suffering he and his people went through. They need time to adjust," he said.

"There's no doubt Carl will ever forgive me," Max said.

"It's not your fault. Ben made a choice, a very difficult choice. I know what's its like to bury a child before your time is up. Its never a easy thing. How's the rest of the family handling it?" he asked.

"So far no one hasn't a word. Even now, the press are still on their doorstep, but Eli was able to get a court order to get them away from the house," Max answered.

"We should get going. I got a eulogy to give," he said.

They left the headquarters, boarded a plane and they flew over to Washington D.C. In a cafe, Rex was drinking a latte when Ken and Sylvia arrived and sat next to him at the bar. "We had no idea you were here," Ken said.

"I arrived here a few days ago. Blake has said portal activity between parallel Earths has stabilised. I got here on a fluke," Rex said.

"Your Earth has been through a lot. How bad was the damage?" he asked.

"After what its been through, it's still standing. I'm still having a hard time, not just dealing with Ben's death, but also my father. When we got split up, me and Trent travelled through time back a week before the Nanite Event. At least it brought me closure." He checks his watch. "We should get going. The funeral starts in fifteen minutes," Rex said.

They left the cafe and head over to the church. Back in Bellwood, Carter is standing over Pierce's grave and it began to rain. "Typical, it always rains during a funeral. At least irony has survived," Carter said.

"I'm surprised you turned up, Carter." Helen arrives and places flowers on the grave. "This is the first time I've seen you come here," Helen said.

"I've been coming here since I got over my Forever Knight issues. Also, I came here fifteen minutes ago. How's Manny doing?" Carter said.

"Still in critical condition. The doctors say he's going to make it, but he requires therapy to help him get back on his own two feet," she answered.

"Manny's tough, but he'll pull. We better get going, we don't want to be late," Carter said.

They left the cemetery and head over to Washington D.C. I stood upon a rooftop, watching the people enter the church, Aeon arrives and stood beside me. "I see you got your legs back," I said.

"You're sure this is what you want, Legion?" Aeon asked.

"Its better this way. Also, not everyone will forgive me for what happened before the Elder Ones," I said.

"Is it true that the other Guardians offered you membership?" Aeon asked.

"It is, but I told them I'll think about it. I sense so much sorrow in the air. Thank you for helping the galaxy during its hour of need," I said.

"It took me a while to snap our ruler out of her stupor. I heard you were offered Guardian membership?" Aeon asked.

"I did, but I told them I'll think about it. Right now, I'm not popular with most people. That's the despite the fact I got pardon three days ago," I answered.

"What're you going to do now since you're a free man or demigod?" Aeon asked.

"Well, it's a big multiverse. I might as well go explore it to see what role I fit in after what's happened," I said.

"Take care and be careful. You're not the only super-powered being out there," Aeon said.

I left the area and teleported to a nearby multiverse to begin my journey. Inside the church, everyone who was invited to funeral has arrived and the Supreme Commander takes centre stage.

"We've gathered today to pay our final respects and goodbyes to the late Ben Tennyson. Throughout his life, Ben saw himself as a hero and was willing to do anything to help out. His noble acts of heroism have gained him the respect from just about every corner of the galaxy and me. When I first heard the reports about him, I was sceptical. In time, I began t saw Ben who he was, not just as Max's grandson, but a friend," the Supreme Commander said.

The Commander leaves the stage and Eli walks on. "Throughout my life, I made a lot of decisions. Some were, others were bad. One of my former partners, Devin Levin always had a suspicion that superheroes would return one day. If they did, he would bring together a band of heroes to fight the battles that no one could. Ben did just that, he brought about the best of us and he led us to victory at the cost of his life," Eli said.

Time passes and each eulogy given is a testament to Ben and what he stood. A hour passes and the organist begins to play Here's To You. Aeon stood watch as he witnesses the people leaving the church. He begins to cry. Sometime later at the Mystery Men, Max, the Supreme Commander, Eli and Trent were sitting at the fireplace. "Today wasn't easy, but I still I like to know why Ben chose Here's To You to be played at his funeral?" the Supreme Commander asked.

"He once told me that the song represented the many injustices people go through and it represents civil rights," Max answered.

"Now that we're all here, its time to do the full debriefing," Eli said.

"Blake and I ran scans and all the locks that separate our multiverse from the others are back in place. It means Earth Prime is off limits and safe," Trent said.

"The galaxy is also safe. You wouldn't believe who showed up during those final moments: the Light Gods," he said.

"Legion did mention something about that when we last spoke," Trent said.

"Speaking of that, when is he?" Max asked.

"Shortly after we defeated the Elder Ones, we offered both Legion and Deviation full Guardian membership. Deviation accepted and I sent him over to Mason Enterprises' Singapore branch for maintenance. To make sure Eon didn't leave any nasty surprises in it. As for Legion, I haven't been able to track down. My guess, he may be on a parallel Earth doing some exploring," Trent answered.

"I still don't like the idea of you giving Legion a full pardon. Given that the list of crimes he's committed is lengthy. What about Julie and those villains Eon recruited?" he asked.

"That's Dark Sai's doing, not his. Also, he could've taken out the team during this whole affair. As for Julie, whatever Deviation did seem to work. She's currently in rehab following a whole ordeal. I ordered my science team to make sure Eon didn't leave any surprises. As for the villains, Sludge was captured and so was Black Knight. Rex took Black Knight back with him so she can face trial for crimes against humanity. Lord Zero still remains at large," Eli said.

"What about the rest of the galaxy ?" Trent asked.

"The galaxy is safe and Revonnahganders have been liberated and so have the Galvan. I have to admit, that was a close call," he answered.

"I'm willing to lend you my resources to help you and the rest of the galaxy rebuild," Trent said.

"Thank you, before I leave, there's something I would to give to you, Max." The Commander gets a small box out, opens it and there's a medal inside. "I was planning to give the Arcadian Star to Ben during a formal dinner, but that point became moot when he sacrificed his life," he said.

He gives Max the medal. "Only seventy Plumbers have been awarded the Arcadian Star. Only five were award posthumously. Thank you," Max said.

"I think we're done," Eli said.

Outside, in the gallery, Carter stares at In Memoriam section of the gallery and stares at the portrait of Ben. "I didn't think it would be this soon. I always thought you died until you get old. I take it Black Knight wasn't a problem?" Carter said.

Rex arrives and stands next to him. "No, she seemed awfully quiet during the transfer. I didn't think we would lose a member this early and it had to be Ben," Rex said.

"I tried speaking to Gwen during the wake, but she kept on crying. Months back, before all of this, Ben asked me how I met her and I usually replied we worked together on a murder case. But Ben wanted all the details and try my best to stay quiet about it. It was around the middle of winter, late November/early December I think. Kevin was on vacation with his mom, while Ben was off world at the time," Carter said.

"What happened?" Rex asked.

"A Plumber kid was murdered, in a back alley during a botched mugging. The killer shot the kid in the heart, when the kid fell, his ID mask broke and it revealed his true form. Det. Louie Fisk was assigned to the case. Louie was a former Plumber, so he was the best candidate to solve the case. But Commissioner Mick Anglo wasn't convinced, so he tried to get Ben to be a consultant or so he thought. Instead, he ended recruiting Gwen," he answered.

"That doesn't sound so bad," Rex said.

"At first, things went well. However, things took a turn for the worst. Gwen returned to the scene of the crime to find more clues to help them solve the murder. Then, a man walked up behind her, he asked for money and Gwen refused. He grabs and holds her to the wall. She tries to scream, but she can't because her face is in the wall. She's crying, she becomes terrified and scared. The man yells for her money as he holds a knife against her throat. Then, I came in, I took the would-be mugger out and left him for the cops. The whole ordeal would've scarred Gwen emotionally, but she's a strong girl. Just like the rest of the family," he said.

Kevin walks up to them, having heard every word Carter has said. "I have no idea that this actually happened, especially to Gwen," Kevin said.

He sheds a tear. "After we solved the case. Gwen made me took a oath of silence to not mention about how I met her, only a small margin of it. She didn't want you to worry about her," he said.

"Thank you," Kevin said.

In the conference room, Blake looks at the files for potential replacements when Trent enters the room. "I've read the files and there isn't anyone who can replace Ben," Blake said.

"Its better this way. The press have been going on about us going our separate ways, but we won't. We're Guardians and we right the wrongs villains commit. It's a brave new world we're entering and its a world without Ben," Trent said.

Meanwhile, Ben wakes up to find himself in a dimension he doesn't recognise. He checks his wrist and the Omnitrix is destroyed. He gets up and stares at the sun. "Okay, I'm in a dimension I don't recognise and the Omnitrix is destroyed. Along with any chance of getting home. This can be problematic," Ben said.

The End?


End file.
